Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 3:07 — 3.2MB)
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | RSS
Arcana Coelestia 6806. [3] “To know” involves conjunction, and man is said to be “known” by the Lord insofar as he is conjoined with Him. The Lord also knows those who are not conjoined, nay, the very smallest particulars in every such man (John 2:24-25); but these men, being in evil, are in a different kind of presence, which is as it were absence; although the Lord is not absent, but the man and the spirit who is in evil is he who is absent; and then it is said that the Lord “does not know” them. An image of this condition appears among angels and spirits; they who are alike as to states of life appear near each other, and thus mutually know each other; but they who are unlike as to states of life, appear to each other to be far away, nor do they know each other in the same way. In a word, in the other life likeness of state causes people to appear present, and to be known; and unlikeness of state causes them to appear absent, and not to be known.
Divine Providence 218. (3) Temporal things and eternal things are separated by man, but are conjoined by the Lord. This is true because all things pertaining to man are temporal, and for this reason man may be called temporal; while all things pertaining to the Lord are eternal, and for this reason the Lord is called Eternal. Temporal things are those that have an end and perish; while eternal things are those that have no end and do not perish. Any one can see that the two can be conjoined only through the Lord’s infinite wisdom, and thus can be conjoined by the Lord, but not by man. But to make known that the two are separated by man and are conjoined by the Lord it must be shown in this order:
(1) What temporal things are, and what eternal things are.
(2) Man is in himself temporal and the Lord is in Himself eternal; and therefore only what is temporal can proceed from man, and only what is eternal from the Lord.
(3) Temporal things separate eternal things from themselves, and eternal things conjoin temporal things to themselves.
(4) The Lord conjoins man with Himself by means of appearances.
(5) Also by means of correspondences.
Divine Providence 220. (4) The conjoining of temporal and eternal ends in a person is the Lord’s Divine providence. As it is not possible, however, for this to fall within the immediate perception of the intellect unless the subject is first reduced into an organized form and developed and demonstrated accordingly, therefore it must be organized as follows:
1. It is of Divine providence that a person by death puts off natural and temporal things and puts on spiritual and eternal ones.
2. Through His Divine providence the Lord conjoins Himself with natural things by means of spiritual ones, and with temporal things by means of eternal ones, in accordance with their applications.
3. The Lord conjoins Himself with their applications through correspondences, and so through appearances according to a person’s affirmations of those appearances.
4. This conjunction of temporal and eternal things is Divine providence.
Third Round posts are short audio clips taken from Round 3 comments offered in the online Logopraxis Life Group meetings. The aim is to keep the focus on understanding the Text in terms of its application to the inner life along with reinforcing any key LP principles that have been highlighted in the exchanges.
